Welcome back to Trust & Safety Lately,your monthly recap of all things trust & safety!
As usual, we'll be sharing recent happenings in online safety legislation and how the tech and gaming sector is (or isn't responding). In this issue of Trust & Safety Lately we're covering:
👶🏽 Gen Z Trends in Gaming
❌ Xbox Transparency Report
✈️ COPPA 2.0 and KOSA Take Flight?
💂🏽 OSA Enforcement and Guidelines
🌐 Protecting Children Online in Spain
⏰ Tick Tock for TikTok ban?
🔬 Setting the Stage for New Areas of Study
📹 Twitch Says Goodbye to its Safety Advisory Council
Let's get started! 🔸
Data and Reports
👶🏽 Gen Z Trends in Gaming
Bitcoin payment platform ZBD released the results of a survey of over 2,000 Gen Z gamers showing that 65% spend over three hours playing video games per day. As PocketGamer points out, "ZBD's survey also reveals that 53% spend more than $20 monthly on games. Also, 54% have gaming subscriptions, comparable to music (65%) and video/movie subscriptions (71%)."
❌ Xbox Transparency Report
Xbox has released its H2 2023 Transparency Report, outlining tech and educational strategies for improving player wellbeing and overall safety. On the tech side, Xbox has launched a new voice chat reporting feature, which aims to allow players to more easily flag instances of inappropriate voice chat behavior. AI-assisted moderation in the form of auto labelling lets moderators move faster to review harmful text content. Image pattern matching is helping Xbox detect known harmful images and remove them from the platform before the content spreads. Here are a few takeaways from the report:
Since the launch of the voice reporting system, 138k voice records have been captured utilizing the ‘capture now, report later’ system.
Since the launch of the Enforcement Strike System, 88% of those who received an Enforcement Strike did not engage in activity that violated our Community Standards to receive another enforcement.
The rates of blocking and removing inauthentic accountsdropped from 16.3 million in the last report to 7.3 million.
Industry News
✈️ COPPA 2.0 and KOSA Take Flight?
Earlier in May, The Hill reports two US Senators proposed amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act to add two online safety bills: COPPA 2.0 and KOSA. The FAA Reauthorization Act passed on May 16, but left out both safety laws.
Later in the month, the House of Representatives reviewed KOSA again. As Tech Policy Press reports, lawmakers are looking more closely at definitions of "duty of care" and just how accessible platform data can or should be to independent researchers.
For the latest recap of what's going on in Congress when it comes to online and child safety, check out this recap from Vox.
💂🏽 OSA Enforcement and Guidelines
Ofcom is continuing to exercise enforcement of the Online Safety Act by issuing warnings to social platforms to remove "toxic" content from their sites. Critics, including parents of children harmed by online content, say that Ofcom isn't doing enough to push platforms like Meta and Snapchat to make any meaningful change. The BBC has more.
Early in May, The Verge reports on Ofcom releasing guidelines and expectations for online platforms to adapt their content algorithms to prevent children from encountering violent or pornographic imagery. At stake? Up to billions in fines.
🌐 Protecting Children Online in Spain
Spain's government has proposed a new law to create specific crimes for sharing sexual content with minors, raise the minimum age for creating a social media account from 14 to 16, and make new punishments for convicted criminals who use internet platforms to commit crimes. Spain already outlaws the use of mobile devices in elementary schools. Read more on AP News.
⏰ Tick Tock for TikTok ban?
AP News reports on US content creators launching a law suit in an attempt to prevent US Congress from banning TikTok. US Department of Justice cites "national security risks" associated with the ByteDance-owned social platform, while other supporters of a ban allege rampant propaganda and other forms of harmful content running amuck.
Meanwhile in the midst of a presidential election cycle, former President Trump joins the platform after calling for the regulation or outright banning of TikTok, as reported by NPR. President Biden has also voiced concerns over data and user safety, but joined TikTok with an account of his own back in February, also reported by NPR.
🔬 Setting the Stage for New Areas of Study
Cornell University announced the launch of its Security, Trust, and Safety (SETS) Initiative to lead curriculum centered on addressing emerging tech and its many unanswered questions around privacy, security, and safety.
📹 Twitch Says Goodbye to its Safety Advisory Council
CNBCreports that Twitch has not renewed any of the nine contracts for members of its Safety Advisory Council, which provides guidance and direction on the platform's safety policies. The group was first formed in May 2020.
Industry Events
Devcom / Gamescom 2024
August 18-25, 2024
Cologne, Germany
Devcom is the official game developer event of gamescom and Europe’s biggest game developer community-driven industry conference. Together, both events represent one of the largest gaming industry conferences in Europe.
Develop:Brighton is a conference, expo and networking event for video game developers. It's the only event in the UK that brings the entire game-making industry together - from global superstars to micro indies, to learn from each other, share ideas and experiences, network and do business in a friendly and inclusive environment.
Hosted by the Trust & Safety Professionals Association, this year's TrustCon will be here before you know it. You can register now -- keep an eye out for the full lineup of speakers and talks coming later this year.
